Godfather Of Champions

The soap opera of last night was replaying on television but not many people were watching it. The television in bars was only left on to create a bit of atmosphere. Business here was slow in the afternoons, especially now that the football season was over. Burns was leaning on the bar table, wiping a row of glasses on it while John, Bill and the gang was gathered at a corner, drinking and just passing time.

“Days without football are so boring… Yawn——,” Bill yawned as he stretched his back, tears forming in his eyes.

“You’re like a drug addict Bill. And you’re still so skinny… Ha!” Someone teased him from the side.

“Even if I’m addicted, I’ll be addicted to football!” Bill glared at the person and continued to lie on the table, drawing on the beer mug with his nails, “The days after the football season is over are always the hardest…” He groaned weakly.

“Good thing the World Cup is starting soon. Who has tickets?” John asked next to him.

“Me!”

“I do!”

“The full set!”

Everyone raised their hands.

John laughed as he looked at them, “Great, we’ll be spending the summer together again! Ha ha!”

“Who knows, we might be able to meet Tony,” someone said all of a sudden, everyone chirped in after being stunned for a moment.

“That’s right, he’ll be in Brazil explaining the matches!”

“Oh no, what a dilemma… I want to watch the games live but I don’t want to miss Tony’s analysis…”

The group of people eventually started to chat about Twain.

At this moment, there was a flash on the television screen and the picture changed from an intense gunfight in the streets of London to the news station where a male news anchor with gold-rimmed glasses was seated.

“We interrupt your program to bring you a piece of news that we’ve just received…”

Bill was originally lying on the table, looking around aimlessly when he saw this change on the television. He took an interest to it and decided to look up and see what that news anchor was going to say.

The picture changed again, to a place that he was very familiar with——The City Grounds.

A reporter was standing outside the gate of the City Grounds holding a microphone, he pointed to the building behind him, and said while facing the camera, “Just earlier, Nottingham Forest Football Club called for a press conference. The club chairman, Evan Doughty, announced on the press conference that the contract renewal talks between Nottingham Forest and Tony Twain has officially ended. Twain will no longer hold the position of Nottingham Forest’s manager after his contract is up…”

Bill stood up suddenly, knocking over the chair behind him and the beer mugs on the table. The people around him was stood up in shock as they were afraid that the beer might drip on their pants.

“Hey! Bill! What’s wrong with you?”

“Have you had too much to drink?”

Bill did not react to that. He merely opened his eyes wide as he looked at the television, his mouth was open as if he was scared by something.

John turned back to look at the television, other than a couple of them who were still worried about their pants, the rest looked up at the television.

The television was replaying the scene of the press conference earlier on the screen.

Evan Doughty was seated in front of the table facing the numerous microphones and he said with a blank expression, “…We regret to announce this piece of information. As we were unable to reach an agreement with Mr Tony Twain regarding the extension of his contract, both parties have decided to end negotiations. When the contract is up, Tony Twain will no longer assume the role of Nottingham Forest manager. We thank him for all his contributions to the club in the 11 years he was here, and we are grateful to him for leading the team to 12 champions’ trophies. We wish him the best of luck.”

The bar suddenly grew silent. The sounds from the television was very clear. Burns also stopped doing what he was working on and looked up at the television.

The beer on the table dripped onto the pants of the people who were still seated, causing a wet patch on their pants but they did not even seem to notice it.

※※※

George Wood was taking a walk with his mother in the gardens outside to soak in the sun when his phone rang.

It was his agent, Woox, “Good afternoon George, what are you doing now?”

“I’m taking a walk with my mother,” Wood took a look at his mother leaning on him.

“I see, looks like you haven’t seen what’s on the television yet. I have a piece of news for you,” Woox stopped for awhile before continuing, “Tony Twain has quit.”

Wood did not manage to react to it at first because such a thought had never crossed his mind before. But he managed to clear his mind soon and asked, “What?”

“It was on the news just now. Forest and Twain failed to come to an agreement regarding the contract renewal, the contract is not renewed. So, come June 30th, he will no longer be your boss.”

Wood stopped. Sophia sensed something wrong with her son and she also stopped to look at him.

Wood did not speak again and he hung up silently.

“George?” Sophia asked softly, “What happened?”

Wood looked at his mother, hesitated before saying, “Boss has left Forest.”

Sophia exclaimed in surprise. She covered her mouth with her hands very quickly, but her eyes were still opened wide.

“Mr Twain…”

Wood nodded. His mother must have felt that it was inconceivable, but why did he feel so empty inside? As if he had lost something very important…

※※※

The English Premier League had ended so the English Football League Championship would naturally have ended too. Tang did not stay in England then, instead, he flew back to his hometown in Sichuan with his fiancée. He wanted to tell his parents about the most important decision in his life himself, it would not do to do it via a phone call.

Tang Jing rested her head on Tang’s shoulder, admiring the lush greenery of the Southern Sichuan’s scenery. The two of them were on a long-distance coach going towards their hometown from Chengdu. As the manager of the team which is the champion of England, Tang was not very well-known here and they were just like any other ordinary person on the coach.

Tang had never thought that he would be married when he was in his previous life, and with a Chinese woman no less. He felt that he had one person to thank for what he had then——Tony Twain, the person that was him previously, and him now. Even though Tony achieved success in his career, he himself managed to get a family and love. He thought that it was worth it, and he might even have come off better in this deal…

That was why Tang decided to give Twain a call to invite them to his wedding with Tang Jing in the summer, right after telling his parents about his marriage with Tang Jing and paying a visit to Tang Jing’s parents——He did not tell Twain in advanced, partly because Twain was very busy then in his pursuit of the treble and partly because he wanted to give Twain a surprise.

This couple who was headed towards a happy new life as a newlywed did not know about what happened on the other side of the globe, but they would probably know very soon.

※※※

The Champions League had ended long ago. Chen Jian did not call Twain, and he did not receive any other news about Twain. However, he felt that he had already made up his mind, especially when he felt fired up together with the team when he saw Forest lifting the Champions League trophy and he could not wait to be part of them.

He thought that he should give his future to this team.

But on the next day, Mr Xia kept dampening his spirits, asking him to not be muddled impulsively. Nottingham Forest is not a place that he could dream of at that time. Achieving the treble would only make them more inclined in buying well-known football stars, instead of developing their own players. Chen Jian would not gain anything by going there and he would finally realize his mistake after sitting on the bench for a few years before leaving dejectedly. That was his future.

He decided to pack up his stuff and return to Sichuan to be with his family. Maybe that would help calm his indecisive heart.

For a few days, Mr Xia kept calling Twain’s mobile phone relentlessly, but all he got in return was “The person you’re trying to reach is unavailable at this time”. He was infuriated and he left Chen Jian to fly to England alone. He wanted to catch hold of Twain and ask him directly about his plans.

Chen Jian returned to China alone.

Suddenly, he received a call from a stranger’s number as he was waiting for his flight carrying a large backpack in Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.

“Hi, Chen Jian,” Twain’s Chinese accent sounded weird, but it was not easy for a Caucasian to speak mandarin so well so the minor difference in accent was nothing.

This phone call was from Twain.

“Where are you now?” Twain could hear that the background was a little noisy and he seemed to have heard an announcement.

“The airport, Amsterdam’s airport,” Chen Jian replied.

“Ah, you’re preparing to go home? Can you tell me about your plans for the future?”

Chen Jian fell silent for awhile before making up his mind, “I think, I would like to extend my contract with the club…”

Twain exclaimed softly on his side, before following up with, “I would advise you against doing it.”

Chen Jian was surprised, was the person on the other side not the manager of Nottingham Forest, Tony Twain? If he was, why would he not stand on the side of the team?

“You haven’t been watching the news lately, right? You’re not paying much attention to Nottingham Forest, are you?” Twain laughed, “I resigned.”

Chen Jian was so shocked that his hand trembled and he almost dropped his phone. This was too unbelievable… It was like meeting a ghost in the day.

Twain could guess the reaction of Chen Jian then. He left Forest too suddenly. The contrast between winning the trophy and leaving the team immediately after was so big that normal people would not be able to accept it.

“You should know, Chen Jian. I was the one who decided to sign you, because I had high hopes for you. However, who would have expected things to be like this now?” He was naturally referring to the matter of him leaving Forest, “I don’t know who my successor will be, and I did not recommend anyone to the club. So, I don’t know what kind of attitude the new manager will have towards you. I don’t even know whether the club will offer you an extension to your contract. If I were still here, I’ll definitely give it to you, but it was a pity you did not sign then, and you don’t have the chance to sign it now.” Twain smiled and said, “Your agent was right, Chen Jian. Nottingham Forest is a very materialistic club. They do not have the patience to wait for a young man to grow slowly, unless you’ve demonstrated extraordinary potential.”

But I don’t have this kind of talent. Chen Jian said in his heart. He knew himself best.

“Your dream is to play football professional, you can do that anywhere, no? I think it’s not time for you to go to Nottingham Forest now, just like what your agent said, moving to a small team and taking things one step at a time would be more beneficial to you.”

“You mean…to let me leave Forest for a smaller club?”

“I’ve heard that there are teams in Netherlands and Belgium who are interested you, even though those are not one of the top European leagues, it would help to train you too.

This suggestion made Chen Jian lose heart a little. He had finally managed to muster enough courage to face the new challenges in Nottingham Forest.

“Even if you extend your contract with the club, you’ll still be loaned out as you cannot play for Forest without a work permit. If you don’t play, you’ll be wasting your golden years. So my suggestion is for you to transfer to a club that’s interested in you, able to provide you with playing time, guarantee that you will be trained, and at the same time, you should be waiting for your national team to call you up, get more experience and fame as well as games for your national team…”

Chen Jian interrupted Twain, “Mr Twain, if I don’t intend to play for Forest anymore, why would I care about the number of games I play for my national team?”

“If your performance is good, what if there are other teams in the English Premier League interested in you? For example, teams like Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea… If you cannot apply for a work permit when they come knocking on your door, wouldn’t that be a pity?” Twain explained with a chuckle.

Chen Jian thought about it in his mind and he felt that it was a fantasy. However, he did not rebuke Twain.

“In short, if you think about it from your angle, Nottingham Forest is not suitable for you currently.”

Chen Jian fell into deep thoughts, everything he heard today was too shocking. Tony Twain actually resigned, and he even called him to persuade him to not stay in Forest… He even suspected that everything he saw and heard for the past few days were all an illusion.

This world is crazy…

“I… Er, let me consider, Mr Twain.”

Twain laughed again, “You don’t have to tell me that, I’m not in-charge of those things now… Make your own decision and be responsible for your own decision. I’m just giving you an advice; I’m not asking or ordering you to do anything. Think about it carefully, you have one more year on your contract anyway. Take the path that you’ve decided on yourself.”

After saying these, Twain hung up.

Chen Jian sat on the chair and spaced out holding his mobile phone. He was still digesting what Twain said in his mind.

He did not expect that just in the space of a few days, there would be a major upheaval in his future. Ever since he decided to leave the school, his homeland, his hometown for his dream of playing football professionally, he did not walk an easy path. However, he had never regretted it. He could only continue to walk on.

Chen Jian did not think for too long this time, when the broadcast in the airport reminded him to start boarding the plane that he was supposed to be on, he called his agent, Mr Xia.

“Uncle Xia, you don’t have to look for Mr twain anymore. I’ve decided, if there are any clubs in Belgium or Eredivisie interested in me, then give them a call. I have to board my place now, that’s all Uncle Xia. Give me a call when I land if there are anything you want to let me know.”

With that, he hung up and walked towards the boarding gate with his carry-on luggage.

A huge booming sound outside the window attracted his view. Outside the floor-to-ceiling window, a plane just took off into the blue skies and disappeared above it, leaving only a white trail behind.